


hiding from heritage

by zoombles



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Dragons, F/M, Original au, alana and zoe are roommates and ex gfs, alanas a big gay and so is jared and connor, hopefully consistent update schedule, kiyxa au, this is gonna get less hits than a tree bros fic would i know, updates thursdays and mondays
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-04-27 14:26:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14427396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zoombles/pseuds/zoombles
Summary: Connor Murphy was taken two years ago for not completing the rites of passage from his kiyxa heritage. Zoe Murphy has gone too far with Xgand and accidentally put herself in danger. Alana and Jared are still angry at Evan. Evan is the most powerful gilki, protector of kiyxas who don’t want to go through with the difficult rites, from their high school.In which Zoe has to hide with Evan, and conflicting feelings begin to arise once again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i haven’t done deh in a while and alana feels ooc but here’s my shitty au. larry is part kiyxa so connor and zoe are too. evans only part gilki from heidi but he still is incredibly powerful. all these species are my original creation, along with xgand.

She didn’t know how long she’d been in that bathroom. 

One thing she did know? She did not want to trust the white being staring at her from her mirror. Not again. 

“I’ve done your dirty work, Xgand.” Her voice was quiet, yet harsh, trying to make sure her roommate didn’t hear. This was a secret. A family secret, but still a secret. 

“You’ve only completed part of your task. You have a job to finish, Xaiy.” 

She hated that name. It was the name from the part of the family that had gotten her dragged into this, the translation of her name into their names. 

“For the last fucking time, my name is Zoe. Not Xaiy.”

“You cannot ignore this part of your heritage. You have rites to complete. Ignore it and it will destroy you.”

“You mean you will destroy me? Like you did to—”

“Xgaivai? He ignored it. It destroyed him.”

“His name was Connor. And ‘it’ didn’t destroy him. I watched your minions, or whatever they are, drag him away. I’m no dumbass.”

A hiss of pain escaped Zoe, watching scratches appear across her arm. Another wrapping of bandages, matching the ones on her other arm. The blood stained with specks of silver among the red, another reminder of this part of her heritage.

“You saw nothing of the sort,” Xgand snapped, flaps on his neck sticking out and scales turning to a flush pink. 

Zoe took a step back. An angry kiyxa wasn’t fun to deal with. (You’d think beings associated with light, love, and happiness would be nicer, but nope.) She’d seen that firsthand with her brother— and he was only part kiyxa. 

“Complete your rites, or it will destroy you. Am I clear?”

Zoe glared directly into the glaring red eyes of the current leader of the species. 

“Clear.”

The kiyxa immediately disappeared, leaving Zoe staring at her own reflection. Tears began streaming immediately, and her hands grasped at the side of the sink to keep herself upright. 

Once she felt she was steady enough, she turned the sink on, plugging it and waiting for it to fill. Her arm bent backwards to reach the single spot on her back that her heritage was physically suggested— a patch of white scales, appearing rough but nearly as smooth as silk when felt. She wished more than anything to be able to tear off the scales and get rid of it all: rites, kiyxas, what had happened to Connor. She wanted it all to disappear. 

She turned the sink off, staring at the distorted reflection in the water. With her newly cut hair, the distortion almost made her look like Connor. Ripples made their way across the surface as tears continued falling, slower now. 

In that moment, she could almost hear Connor’s voice: two words, forced. He’d said them to her right before being dragged off to who knows what fate. 

“Hansen. Safe.”

She knew who he was talking about: one of the kids at school, in his grade. He never talked much, but he had a somehow calming aura— a cruel joke, with how anxious he was twenty-four seven. She’d met him and gotten to know him soon after— or, at least one version of him. It had been a lie, Zoe knew that, but it saved her family. The last time she’d seen Evan was at the orchard dedicated to Connor. His number sat untouched on her phone after that. 

She grabbed her phone from her pocket, sending a quick message. 

To: Evan Hansen  
I need a place to stay. I’ll explain when I get there.

From: Evan Hansen  
What?

From: Evan Hansen  
Zoe you haven’t texted me in a year

From: Evan Hansen  
What’s going on

To: Evan Hansen  
I’m part kiyxa, and I can’t complete the rites. I need a safe place, Connor said you were safe

From: Evan Hansen   
Fuck. Explain more when you get here.

The final text from Evan was his address— shit, he’d moved farther than she thought— accompanied by how to get there with the least chance of being caught. He was, quite literally, a lifesaver.

Zoe shoved her phone back into her pocket, rinsing off and drying her face. She stepped out of the bathroom, moving to her room and beginning to shove clothes into an empty backpack that had been shoved into the back of her closet. The clothes were accompanied by a half-full water bottle that had been sitting on her bedside table, two pairs of headphones (she went through them way too fast), some fire agate and fluorite crystals, and a small plush of Pegasus from Hercules. (Can you blame her? It’s so soft.)

She had just stepped out of her room when Alana intercepted her. They’d moved in together when they were a couple, but stayed in the same apartment though they’d broken up a few months ago. 

“What’re you packed up for?” Alana asked, glancing at the backpack that was stuffed full hanging off of Zoe’s shoulders. 

Zoe hesitated, not wanting Alana to begin rambling again— she knew it was a habit, but she didn’t have time for it then. 

“...I’m going to visit Evan.”

Zoe saw Alana’s reaction before she was able to say anything— she still hadn’t exactly forgiven Evan. She quickly masked the hurt on her face before saying anything. 

“Alright! When will you be back?”

“Not sure, it’s kind of last-minute. I’ll text you, alright?”

It was obvious that Alana was concerned, but she gave a nod and a smile. “Yeah, that’s fine!”

Zoe continued to grab her wallet and keys, heading out to her car and starting it. She leaned back in the driver’s seat, taking a deep breath before buckling herself in and starting the car. 

She drove off, more nervous than ever, as she tried her best to ignore how much the lights on the back of the cars in front of her looked like the eyes of the species that would be out to kill her soon enough.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoe arrives at Evan’s. Apparently, he has a full kiyxa under his protection, who can’t speak English, but has been named Ave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it’s taken a while to get this out sorry yall (1091 words, 5965 characters, 3 pages)

Zoe parked in the abandoned lot, which was right where Evan had said it was— he had no reason to lie, anyways. It was around midnight by then, and she really didn’t want to take the short trek through the woods to Evan’s house. 

She did anyways, grabbing her bag from the backseat. She did her best to stuff any other evidence of anyone using the car into a bag she usually used for groceries, only leaving a few items pushed beneath seats, hidden in the glovebox or the center console, or in the trunk. 

As she made her way through the woods, she did her best to block out the paranoia she felt every time she stepped on a stick or a particularly crunchy leaf. A few times, an animal would move in the leaves or trees around her and she’d sprint for a few seconds, but overall she did pretty well keeping her paranoia to a minimum. 

She finally saw the trees thinning in front of her, hoping she had headed in the correct direction. 

Evan came into view as Zoe continued walking up, which led to a quick sigh of relief as she picked up her pace. She was about to break the tree line when another figure standing beside Evan caught her eye. 

At first she thought it was another human, but she took a step back anyways. She peered around the trunk of the oak in front of her, her paranoia quickly returning. 

A kiyxa was nudging its head against Evan’s chest, and saying… something. It was in the native language of the species, a language Zoe had never bothered to learn.

One of the first things Zoe noticed was its scales-- it didn’t have a pure white coat, instead sporting brown speckles, the majority on its head, neck and tail, though the speckles covered its entire body save for the underbelly. The eyes weren’t the signature red of the species either, which was relatively uncommon, but the brown eyes didn’t confuse her as much. She’d seen plenty of kiyxas without red eyes.

When she finally managed to unfreeze, she began taking a few steps backwards, trying to avoid making any sound.

Of course, with her luck, she tripped over a tree root sticking up from the ground and fell into a pile of leaves with a shout of “Shit!”

Evan and the kiyxa went silent for a second, before the sound of wings flapping against the air began, and within seconds Zoe was frozen again, this time sitting up with her hands as she met the eyes of the dragon staring down at her.

“Zoe?” Evan’s voice called, and the kiyxa glanced back long enough for Zoe to scramble back against a tree. The kiyxa gave what she assumed was a sigh as it stepped back, Evan stepping around its legs. 

“Ave, back off, alright?” The kiyxa gave another dissatisfied sigh, launching itself back into the air. Zoe assumed it landed once again in Evan’s backyard.

Evan raised his hands apologetically, giving a small laugh. “Sorry. They’re really not used to new people.”

Zoe stood back up, hand against the tree behind her. 

“Who, exactly, are they?” she asked, adjusting her backpack a bit.

“Uh. As far as I’m aware, they’re just another kiyxa. I call them Ave. They showed up, like, April of my senior year. They can’t speak English, so I try my best to interpret their body language?” Evan shrugged. “They’re hiding too. Don’t worry.”

Zoe worried anyways. She’d never heard of a full kiyxa seeking safety. Then again, she’d also barely interacted with any full kiyxas aside from Xgand and those who worked for him, and they’d ignore the fact that anyone could hide from the consequences of not completing rites.

“Anyways. You should, uh, probably get inside?”

Zoe sighed, nodding, glancing at the objects from the car spread across the forest floor from her fall. She’d barely been okay with having to hide when she left her apartment. She felt worse about it now. And no one besides Evan even knew what she was doing. 

Evan noticed the bag and its contents on the ground as well, walking over to start cleaning it up. Zoe dropped to her knees as well, grabbing the old letters and papers.

It took a few minutes, but eventually everything had been put into the bag once again. Evan offered to carry it, and Zoe didn’t decline-- the backpack she was wearing was already heavy enough.

As Zoe walked out of the woods, she glanced around at Evan’s house and backyard. It was nothing big, really— he had an apple tree, fruits still weighing its branches down, growing in a mound of dirt with a rock circle around it, and a bench next to that. A small pond sat empty aside from some lily pads and autumn leaves floating in there, another bench next to that. They were small decorations, but they were pretty peaceful.

The house itself was painted beige with a brown roof and light blue shutters. There was an obviously homemade shed next to it, and a circular tail sticking out from the slightly-ajar doors showed that Ave had gone in there. 

Evan stepped onto his small porch, opening the door and waiting for Zoe to go inside. Once she did, he glanced around a bit before following after her, shutting and locking the doors. The lights inside the house were dimmed, only the ones in the dining room, where she’d entered, and the living room turned on. 

“The, uh. The guest bedroom’s kind of a mess and I didn’t have time to clean it, so uh, I put new sheets on my bed and I can sleep on the couch,” Evan said, setting Zoe’s bag down on one of the four chairs set around the dining room table. 

She followed suit, placing her backpack beside it. 

“I can sleep on the couch, Evan,” Zoe said with a shrug. “It’s your house. Really.”

“No, really. You can take the bedroom.”

“It’s your bedroom.”

For reasons neither of them could piece together, the argument landed Zoe under a pile of blankets, on top of the covers of Evan’s bed as Evan lay under the covers beside her. 

“This isn’t what I meant,” Zoe sighed, but stayed where she was. 

“It’s a compromise,” Evan said.

“...Fine. Fair.”

Both turned on their sides, facing away from each other. 

And somehow, despite the stress of their new situation, they both managed to fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evan leaves Zoe home alone. And he let Ave inside. 
> 
> Well, at least there's chocolate chip muffins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (3 pages, 651 words, 3482 characters, written in less than an hour somehow)

Zoe woke up to Ave sniffing at her face.

She stifled a scream, shifting backwards against the headboard of the bed. 

How’d they get inside? Where was Evan? What was going on?

Ave huffed a bit, giving Zoe a noseful of dragon breath (which was not a pleasant scent).

“Gee. Thanks,” she mumbled, trying to maneuver her way out of the bedroom.

That was unneeded, as Ave turned and squeezed themself through the doorway.

She followed Ave into the living room, where a nest of pillows and blankets had been set up (that was… a lot of blankets and pillows). They laid themself down there, head resting on a footstool.

A piece of paper sitting on the coffee table, next to a plate of muffins (blueberry or chocolate chip, she couldn’t tell), caught her attention. She sat down on the couch, grabbing a muffin and the note.

“Zoe,

I’m at work!! Sorry for not telling you last night, I expected you to be up sooner. 

I let Ave inside too, they like to come in sometimes. Sorry if they scared you this morning!! :-)

I’ll be home around five!! 

(the muffins are chocolate chip)

-Evan”

Zoe sighed, falling backwards against the pillow on the couch.

“You better not do anything like that any other time I’m home alone,” she told the kiyxa, though it was muffled by a mouthful of muffins. 

Ave adjusted their wings a bit, covering their snout as they mumbled… something. Still in kiyxan. Zoe made a small note to try and learn it, somehow.

“I’m guessing you understand English,” she said, once she wasn’t in the middle of chewing.

They nodded.

“But you don’t speak it.”

Another nod.

“Can you, like, not make the sounds?”

No response.

“Uh. Nod if you can. Shake your head if you can’t.”

There were a few seconds of silence, then a nod.

“So you just… won’t speak it?”

“It feels weird.”

Zoe wasn’t sure what kind of voice she was expecting. She didn’t expect a voice at all. She was okay with the nodding-and-shaking way of talking to Ave.

“... Does Evan know you speak it?”

“No. I don’t want to be expected to speak it. Like I said, it feels weird.”

She kind of could see where they were coming from. It was like, how being called Xaiy felt weird to her. Or how Connor had learned kiyxan as a kid, just from listening in, but didn’t share it with anyone except himself and Zoe because “I don’t want some fuck to make me speak it”.

Zoe crossed her arms, picking a bit at the edges of the bandages on her arm from the night before.

“Your arms. Are you okay?”

Zoe nodded, still wondering how Ave could speak English like he’d known it forever. Even Xgand messed up and had stiff conversations, and he’d been speaking it since he was… 132? Who knows, that guy was old.

“Just Xgand. Last night. Hopefully, it’s the last time I’ll have to deal with it.”

“Evan doesn’t have mirrors. He does, but only hand-held ones, and he doesn’t use them around me. There’s no way for Xgand to contact either of us.”

Zoe gave a small sigh of relief. She was pretty sure she wouldn’t be contacted either way-- he’d just pinpoint her location and send his minions after her-- but it was still some of the best news she’d heard lately.

“Also, if you ever want to sneak some food from Evan, I know where he keeps the cookies,” Ave said.

Zoe smirked, finishing the last bite of her muffin.

“Hell yeah.”

\---

Evan arrived home to find that Zoe had had three cups of coffee and eaten half of a new package of Oreos. 

“I found your cookies,” she said with a small shrug.

“Great.”

“I can give you money for new ones.”

“No, no, it’s fine, I keep extras.”

“... Where.”

“Zoe, no.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i actually posted something from my laptop. it's a miracle.  
> anyways theres ave. theyre sure Something


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not fair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> angst time.  
> (3 pages, 794 words, 4265 characters)

Zoe draped herself over the bench underneath the apple tree, her eyes closed. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing, but she likes being extra, what can you do?

She wore a jean-jacket over a sleeveless shirt, the front stating “I LIKE MY MEN LIKE I LIKE MY WOMEN.” Not visible at the time was the back, stating “THAT’S IT. THAT’S THE JOKE. (I’M BISEXUAL)”

“Hey, I made lemonade. Could I have a seat?”

Her eyes fluttered open again to Evan standing in front of the bench, holding two glasses of lemonade, both sporting small, pink umbrellas. 

“Evan, it’s October fifth,” Zoe said, gesturing to the decorations in the drinks as she adjusting into a sitting position.

“Well, at least global warming’s making it so we can sit outside and drink lemonade at three-thirty in the afternoon.”

Zoe laughed. “You’re not wrong about that.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, a few splashes coming from the koi fish that Zoe had learned lived in Evan’s small pond.

“Hey, Zoe,” Evan asked, though he didn’t turn to face her. “Uh, two questions.”

He paused.

“Go ahead, Ev,” Zoe said, putting her cup on the ground. 

“Uh, alright. How’d Connor know I was a gilki?”

Zoe blinked. She hadn’t been sure what kind of protector species Evan was, but looking around a bit more, she could tell. 

Gilkies were nature-based protectors. They were able to aid in the growing of plants, and something about those plants hid the existence of any kiyxas being protecting by them. 

And, seeing how life thrived around Evan’s house, it shouldn’t have been a surprise to her.

“I don’t know. He just knew you were safe.”

“Alright,” Evan mumbled. “And, uh. What… actually happened to Connor? I’m… I’m guessing it wasn’t… you know.”

Zoe was silent. She’d always tried to hold back those memories, but she was never able to.

She took a deep breath, before recapping the night Connor had died.

“He’d taken us out for ice cream, since Larry and Mom had been fighting at home, like usual. We didn’t normally get along, but we… well, we could agree on one thing: ice cream was good when our parents were fighting.

“He got soft serve, chocolate-vanilla twist, and I got cotton candy hard serve… but that’s not really important.

“We drove around for a while. We stopped at the orchard. All of that.

“We stopped at his boyfriend’s house. A kid named Cameron, I don’t think you know him. We hung out there for a while, ‘til maybe eleven? Watched a few movies.”

She took a deep breath. She hated this part.

“The thing is, Connor didn’t… he never finished the rites. He hated them. So Xgand, Xgand sent some kiyxas to… to kill him.”

Evan opened his mouth, as if he was going to say something, but closed it again as Zoe continued.

“We were leaving, Cameron was talking to Connor as we walked out to the car, and two jumped out. Cameron’s… something, he never told Connor nor I, he’s not fully human, so he fought them off. While he was fighting, he told us to go, so we did, we got in Connor’s car and went as fast as we could.

“We were almost home. We almost made it home. We were so close to getting home. 

“Then a kiyxa jumped on the window and-- it was a kid. A kid, Evan. They couldn’t have been more than fifteen. They were a kid. They were tiny.

“Connor couldn’t see. He crashed into a pole. We, we got out fine, with scratches, yeah, but otherwise fine, even though Connor had to pull me out.

“They were following us. The entire time. They were all kids. All of them. They shouldn’t-- They shouldn’t have been put on the job.

“But- they grabbed him. Connor came around to help me out, and they grabbed him.

“I screamed. I tried to fight them off. He tried to get them off. But he couldn’t. And, and he told me to run. He told me you were safe. But I just, I ran home. They waited two years. Two years to threaten me. He only had a year to complete his rites. It wasn’t fair. He didn’t even get to make it through senior year. 

“He was getting better. He really was. They took his chance away from him, it’s not fair.”

She hadn’t talked about any of it in years. Or ever. She went silent as she realized tears were streaming down her face.

She glanced over at Evan, noticing that he’d taken her hand.

“I’m sorry, Zoe.”

Just those three words. Three words, and she collapsed into broken sobs. Evan pulled her into a silent hug.

It’s not fair.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Watching Love, Simon after putting away Halloween decorations? That’s pretty damn nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (957 words. 5155 characters. 4 pages)

That month passed unnaturally fast. 

At least, it seemed that way.

Zoe left the house sometimes. It wasn’t completely safe, but she’d learned that Evan typically kept plants in his backpack, so hopefully it’d mask her presence (and, bonus, the presence of any other part-kiyxas around them). 

So they went to cheesy movies. They went out for dinner occasionally, and at one point went to the orchard-- it was the end of apple-picking season, but there were still some left on the trees. They stopped at A La Mode on the way home. 

And now they were picking up from Halloween.

Turns out, Evan was really good at placing the decorations places where you didn’t see them until you stepped on the pressure pad and they jumped out at you. Zoe had learned that five times over while going around and picking them up, since Evan had insisted on waiting until night. Probably to make it more fun (and annoying) (and maybe just a tiny bit scary) to find and pick up all the moving decorations.

Candy wrappers were caught in the grass, which Evan handled for the most part. They both worked together to untangle the fake spiderwebs from the small trees in the front yard.

Once everything was either put away or thrown out, at around eight-thirty, they both collapsed on the couch.

“And now we wait for Hanukkah,” Evan said with a sigh.

“Now we wait for Hanukkah,” Zoe repeated.

“You know, I like having excuses to wear a costume and put out scary decorations. It means I’m not the only one standing in my doorway who’s scared. Or anxious, or who just wants to sit down and eat candy for the rest of the night.”

“Yeah, I feel that.”

Zoe glanced at the half-full candy bucket still sitting on the coffee table. She reached over, grabbing out a mini chocolate bar, and tossed it at Evan.

He laughed, unwrapping it and snapping it into two halves before tossing one half back at Zoe.

“Two pieces for both of us.”

“I’ll take that deal.”

They sat in silence for about half a minute. 

“Uh, we could watch a movie,” Evan said, shrugging.

Zoe nodded, walking over and sifting through the DVDs.

“Yo, you’ve got Love, Simon? I’ve been dying to watch that again.”

“Oh, yeah!”

Zoe smiled, ejecting the last movie they’d watched from the DVD player. Once everything was loading, she grabbed the remote and sat back down, curling up a bit in the corner.

A muffled thud came from the backyard, signifying that Ave was back-- didn’t they get back half an hour ago? No, that was them now, it had to be.

The movie hadn’t even started when a sound that was practically the kiyxan version of a roar-- more of a screech than anything-- came from outside. Zoe fumbled with the remote, turning off the TV as Evan rushed to the back window.

There were a few seconds of terrifying silence, long enough for Zoe to shove some of the food into her pockets. 

“Zoe. Zoe, go get in the car.”

“That’s not Ave, is it?” Zoe asked, her voice shaking.

“Get in the car. Get your bag and get in the car.”

She didn’t bother asking again.

She ran to the bathroom, grabbing her bag from behind the door (she kept her clothes in there alongside the rest of her belongings, so it was kept in there). She slung it over one arm, running to the front door and outside, where Evan was turning his car on.

She heard another roar, and made the mistake of turning towards the sound.

Ave and another kiyxa were flying who knows how far above and fighting each other.

They’d been found. Somehow, some way, Xgand had tracked them down.

She climbed into Evan’s car, slamming the door and pulling on the seatbelt (road safety, kids). 

The car’s engine rumbled to a start. Evan put it in reverse, backing out as fast as he could before switching to drive.

“We need a place to stay. Do you have anywhere? Anywhere at all?”

She ran through the options. She couldn’t go back to her apartment-- shit, was Alana okay? She hadn’t texted her in forever. She couldn’t go to her parent’s, nor was she willing to. 

“Jared’s.”

Evan spared a few seconds of a glance.

“Jared’s?” he asked.

“I know, he hasn’t forgiven you, but that’s all I can think of.”

Evan gave a quiet sigh. “Alright. Alright, yes, sure.”

Zoe had a moment of realization. “What about Ave?”

“They’ll be fine.”

“How will they--”

“They’ll be fine!”

Zoe didn’t ask again. She pulled her phone out, shooting a text to Jared.

To: Jared  
Evan and I need a place to stay

To: Jared  
Please i know you’re still mad but we need somewhere to stay

From: Jared  
Shit, are you sleeping with him again?

To: Jared  
No, fuck you

From: Jared  
I’m pretty sure you’re saying that to the wrong person

To: Jared  
Can we stay with you or not

From: Jared  
Fine. Fine. You’re not doing anything in my house though

To: Jared  
Shut up

Zoe leaned her head back, a bit relieved despite being annoyed beyond belief.

“We can stay with him.”

“What’s his address?”

“Here.” Zoe plugged his address from her contact for him into her phone’s GPS app. 

“Half an hour to get there.”

Zoe nodded. “Half an hour to get there.”

“Do we have that much time?”

“I hope so.”

Zoe stared out the window, taking a few deep breaths. 

“We’ll be okay,” she said. She wanted to believe she was only reassuring Evan.

But, truthfully, she was trying to convince herself those words were true as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y’all think im sorry for turning domestic shit into this? hell to the no (dw jared has a copy of ls so they can watch it there)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They made it in time. Ave’s safe too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (5 pages, 1252 words, 6729 characters)  
> a long chapter for once!

They made it in time.

Evan probably would’ve gotten a very expensive speeding ticket had a police officer seen them, but they made it to Jared’s in time.

As soon as they got there, Evan pulled two small potted flower bushes from the back of his car. He set them beside the stairs leading up to Jared’s front door, and those two bushes became the first plants Zoe saw Evan growing. He just stuck his hands into the dirt around them and they almost doubled in size.

Their effect was obvious even to Zoe. They were forget-me-not flowers, and even as a part-kiyxa they made her drowsy, forcing her to focus intensely on what she had been doing, or else it slipped to the back of her mind.

“What the fuck?” 

Zoe hadn’t noticed the door opening, but there was Jared. He was staring down at Zoe and Evan, especially at Evan, whose hands were still stuck into the dirt of the second flowerpot.

He pulled his hands out, ripping a few roots that had wrapped around his hands in the process.

“It’s hard to explain. Ignore the flowers.” 

He glanced at Zoe, noticing her drowsy state and wrapping his arm around her stomach.

“Can we get her inside, please?”

“Is she drunk or something? What the fuck is going on, Evan?”

“I can explain when we get inside, alright, Jared? Now can you please help me get her inside?”

He sighed, nodding. “Oh, and Alana’s on her way here. I told her you were coming here needing a place to stay and she apparently needs to talk to Zoe.”

Zoe was only able to register a few words exchanged between Evan and Jared as Evan helped her inside. Nothing to figure out what the conversation was turning towards or anything. 

She passed out just as they walked in the door.

\---

Evan was scared.

He’d just ran away from his home with Zoe Murphy to Jared Kleinman of all people.

He was sitting outside when Alana pulled up. He wiped his hands on his shirt, trying to dry off the sweat he knew was there. 

She didn’t even respond when he held out his hand for her to shake it. She forced her way past him, into the house.

“Where’s Zoe?”

The rest of the conversation was muffled as Alana shut the door behind her. Evan gave a quiet sigh and returned to just sitting there.

He was waiting. He was waiting.

He’d been waiting. How long had he been waiting?

It wasn’t just waiting for Ave to get there. He’d been waiting for everything.

Waiting for Halloween. Waiting for a second chance from Jared and Alana. Waiting for Hanukkah. Waiting to figure out what had happened when Connor was taken. 

Waiting for his feelings towards Zoe to work themselves out.

That wasn’t going to happen. He was tired of waiting. 

Zoe Murphy. The girl he’d lied to. The person he was in charge of keeping safe because some species decided to target her.

His feelings were confusing. Was he just concerned as a friend or not? Was he just happy with her as a friend or not?

He didn’t know. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever know. Besides, what reason would she have for dating him again? After senior year?

He didn’t have more time to contemplate it. A loud thud came from the small patch of trees to the side of Jared’s house, which Evan could only assume was Ave.

He stood up, walking over. The thorn bushes bit at his skin as he fought through them, one ripping the lace of his shoe.

He expected to see a dragon. He did not expect this.

A person, probably just around eighteen, was laying there. Their brown hair was cut short, only an inch long on top. 

If it weren’t for the mainly white scales covering most of their body, Evan would’ve assumed it was some kid who’d just run off. 

The same brown patterns as Ave had were copied on the kid’s arms and legs, and they… may not have been wearing clothes. That was an issue. 

The kid’s eyes shot open, and a hiss of pain escaped them. Their hand rushed to their leg, which Evan was just noticing was probably broken.

“Evan.”

The voice shocked him. The kid was undoubtedly Ave, but he’d never heard his name uttered in their voice.

“My leg’s broken.”

 

English. How long had Ave known English?

“It hurts.”

What was happening? How were they human?

“Stop staring at me and help!”

Evan snapped out of his thoughts.

“Right- right! Okay! One second!”

He ran back to the house, rushing inside.

“I need a towel and Ace bandages. Quickly.”

Jared was the only one in sight. Alana must have gone into the basement, where Zoe was asleep on the couch.

“For what?”

“I can show you in a minute. I just need them. Now.”

“Jesus, alright, Evan. Calm down. I still have paper bags if you need to breath into one.”

“Shut up!”

Within a few minutes, the two of them were rushing back out to where Ave was. Evan held countless wraps of Ace bandages, and Jared held a towel.

They managed to force their way through the thorns once again.

Jared laid his eyes on the… person? Kiyxa? What word would be used in this situation? 

Whatever would be used, Jared looked at Ave.

“Oh.” He paused. “Hot.”

“Thanks,” Ave said.

“Now’s not the time for flirting, Jared.” Evan interrupted. He rushed over to Ave, dropping the rolls of bandaging beside him. 

“This’ll hurt. I’m sorry,” Evan said, placing his hands over the broken leg. Even at the slight pressure, Ave gave a small hiss.

According to all the other protectors he’d talked to, all protectors could do this. Evan had never tried.

He focused on the break, using the same energy he always used to grow things. A fast stream of “ow”s came from Ave’s mouth as the break moved under Evan’s hands.

There was a pop sound and a small yelp. Evan took that to mean that Ave’s bones were back in place, and grabbed a roll of bandages. 

He wrapped multiple rolls around Ave’s leg to make sure it didn’t shift. It was a decent wrap, almost mirroring what Evan’s cast had looked like in senior year.

Evan helped them up, grabbing the towel from Jared and wrapping it around Ave’s waist. 

Once they managed to get inside, Jared grabbed a Sharpie from a desk sitting at the side of his room. He grabbed the kid’s leg, signing “the insanely cool Jared Kleinman,” complete with stars instead of dots over the i’s. 

Evan was about to ask before Jared said why.

“I never signed your cast. In senior year. I was an asshole. I’m trying to be better, Evan. So.”

Evan paused before giving a nod.

“Anyways, what’s this guy’s name?”

They interrupted before Evan could say anything. “Ave. Call me Ave.”

“I mean, if that’s your name then I’m going to.”

“It is. My name, I mean.”

“You don’t sound so sure.” 

“It’s my name, alright, Kleinman?”

There was a silence.

“How did you-”

“Name tag. There’s a name tag.” Ave gestured towards a name tag that was, indeed, sitting on the table beside the couch.

“Alright. Fine. But don’t call me Kleinman.”

“Fine. Jared.”

Evan glanced between the two. Having them in the same house was going to be… interesting. 

Hopefully Jared wouldn’t kick Ave out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the POV change is only temporary next chapters switching back to zoe fkjfjfn


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alana and Zoe need to talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (828 words, 4452 characters, 4 pages)

Zoe woke up sitting in the corner of a couch. Alana was sitting in the middle of the couch. A kid she didn’t recognize was on the other side, wearing an outfit that was obviously Jared’s.

Wait. Did that other kid have scales.

Alright. Sure. Sure, fine, that makes sense. Okay.

“Who are…?” Zoe mumbled, her brain still waking up.

“It’s just me. It’s just Ave,” the kid said.

“How?”

Ave shrugged. “This takes less energy and I don’t have enough right now or something? I don’t know, it was automatic.”

Zoe was silent. She knew people like her had kiyxa forms. She did not know kiyxas had semi-human forms. 

Then again, she still didn’t know a lot.

Her eyes trailed to the Ace bandages wrapped around Ave’s leg.

“What… happened there?”

“I fell. When I changed forms.”

“And Jared signed it as ‘the insanely cool Jared Kleinman’?”

Ave glanced down, apparently not having noticed what exactly had been written on their makeshift cast.

They sighed, mumbling something. 

“Yeah. I guess.”

“And he let you borrow one of his outfits?”

“It barely fits me, but yes.”

“How long are you gonna look like this?”

“Rest of the night, maybe. I don’t know.”

“Has it happened before?”

“No.”

Zoe stopped asking questions when Alana interrupted. 

“Yeah, sorry to butt in, but Zoe. I need to talk to you.”

Ave took that as his cue to leave.

“I’ll go upstairs. See if there’s a place I can stay outside so I don’t break anything when I change back.”

He managed to get himself upstairs, muttering curses under his breath with each step and leaning on anything and everything he could.

That left Zoe and Alana alone. Which couldn’t end well.

“You disappeared for a month.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t respond to any of my texts.”

“I know.”

“You didn’t answer any of my calls.”

“I know.”

“What the hell happened, Zoe? I’m not going to be mad if you’re dating Evan now or something. I’m not going to be mad if you want to move in with him, or if you already did. I don’t control your decisions. I just want to know what’s happening.”

“I’m… I don’t like him like that.”

“Then what’s happening, Zoe?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“I was sitting next to a kid with scales and a broken leg who came out of nowhere for an hour. If that wasn’t a hallucination, I think I can handle whatever you have to tell me. Whatever reason you have for disappearing like this.”

There was just silence. Zoe opened her mouth, but couldn’t get the sound to come out. 

“You’re kiyxas, aren’t you? Or, were? You’re a kiyxa. Connor was too.”

Zoe tightened her fists.

“Yeah. How do you know about this? About us?”

Alana gave a quiet laugh. 

“My brother? The kid you never met, because he hated being around people and all of that? He was one too. Our dads adopted him because he needed protection. My dads are protectors, Zo. I’ve grown up around this stuff. You could’ve told me.”

“I couldn't. I wish I could, but I couldn’t get myself to. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s okay, Zo.”

The two girls shared a few seconds of silence.

“Who’s Ave, anyways? What’s his deal?”

“They’re a full kiyxa. And, uh, I think they use gender-neutral pronouns.”

“How are they a full kiyxa? They looked like my brother.”

“They what.”

“My brother’s covered in scales too. He’s still a part kiyxa, he’s got lots of brown and black scales, and his kiyxa form is almost normal sized, but he’s still only part.”

“Please tell me he isn’t taller than 4 feet in his kiyxa form.”

“Zoe. He’s eight feet.”

“But he’s five years younger than me.”

“You’re four feet? No joke?”

“No joke. Sadly.”

Alana started laughing. A few apologies came between laughs, and Zoe laughed along a bit.

“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t be laughing.”

“It’s okay. I like to laugh at it too. I don’t even like my kiyxa form.”

“What about Connor? Did he ever like it?”

“No. He hated his. He never used it.”

“That’s fair.”

The two girls sat in silence, just enjoying being with each other again.

“Y’know, I wouldn’t complain to hanging out with you still. I’ve gotta stay with Evan, but I think I’m getting too attached to one person.”

Alana just laughed. 

“I remember you saying that when you asked me out. That you were too attached to me for you to just feel like a friend towards me.”

“Wait. No, that’s-- Shit.”

“You’re going to be the last one to realize it, aren’t you?”

“Shut up.”

She wasn’t. She already knew it.

Why did she have to fall back in love with him? 

Those stupid pretty eyes. And soft hair. And the way he laughed.

She had fallen back in love with him.

And, actually, she was okay with that. She was okay with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for y’all who are like “but u said it was slow burn” TRUST ME theyll be mutually pining for another at least like eight chapters dw


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zoe gets relationship advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y’all this might not be finished. ive really lost motivation especially since my shitty one shots get so much more of a reaction than this, which ive poured so much of myself and my work and my passion for this musical, for my writing, into. at the least it’ll probably only be weekly updates. thanks to those of you that have been standing by and supporting this fic even while I go updateless for over a month. this might be the last chapter, ever or just for a while, or it might not. we’ll see. but thank you. im sorry i can’t find the motivation to work on this lately.

Zoe woke up the next day to find that Ave had, indeed, only been human-like for one night. 

Jared seemed somewhat disappointed. Jesus, out of all the people to be a scaly.

Evan didn’t look like he’d slept. His hair was messed up, petals and leaves sticking out of it and scratches from thorns covering his arms. Bags were obvious under half-lidded eyes. Based on the new plants blooming both outside and inside the house, he’d stayed up all night making sure they’d be protected.

Alana had made pancakes with Evan. Zoe ate almost a quarter of them, despite the others asking her to stop and save some for later. Alana’s cooking was like being home again. She wasn’t going to give that up. It wouldn’t taste the same warmed up again. 

Ave only had one. They were curled up around a small tree in the backyard, their wings draped around their face, which Evan had come to learn meant they were upset. No one was sure why. 

Evan sat outside with them for a while and just talked. Zoe spent the day talking with Alana and Jared, which included mostly them pointing out all the obvious signs that Evan liked her back. Zoe, of course, pointed out that “him protecting me doesn’t mean he likes me, he’s a protector, it’s basically his job” and that “just because he always gets that little smile when he sees me doesn’t mean he likes me.” Alana and Jared weren’t buying it.

“Zoe. If you’re so unsure, just ask him out already,” Alana said.

“How would that help me figure out?” 

“Really?” Jared said, holding back laughter. “How would admitting your feelings to the person who likes you help you find out for sure if he likes you back? If he says yes, he likes you. If he says no, he probably doesn’t. Or he thinks it’s a prank.”

Zoe stared. “You’re insane. I can’t even bring him on dates, remember? My car is back in that clearing in the forest behind his house. And wouldn’t it be weird for the person being asked out to drive?”

“Just take my car, Zo. Seriously.”

“Lana, listen, you’re my best friend and I love you but I’m not doing this.”

Alana immediately shut up. Jared began another sentence, but stopped at Alana’s glare.

“Okay. Alright. We won’t push you, but seriously. You can’t just leave it.”

“Watch me,” Zoe half-said, half-snapped. 

Alana and Jared pulled back a bit, and Zoe pulled the pillow from behind her back, leaning onto the back of the couch and shoving it in her face. She hated being pressured. Even if it wasn’t that much pressure. 

She just wanted things to stay the same.

Why did she have to deal with emotions?

Why did she have to deal with these emotions towards Evan?

Why did everyone think that Evan felt the same way towards her?

She didn’t want to risk it. She didn’t want to risk ruining things.

Why couldn’t she just not worry about this stuff? Just ask him and get it over with?

It’s not fun to be pining.

**Author's Note:**

> it’s just zoe in the bathroom by herself (im sorry)  
> anyways yeah that’s that and this was written and posted on mobile so hopefully it doesn’t look like garbage   
> thanks for reading!  
> (3 pages, 1008 words, 5473 characters, written over two days)


End file.
